Pages

Friday, June 10, 2016

Photo Essay: Collections.

1. Collecting can be fun.

Collecting brings us pleasure and satisfaction. Collections ground you in the present and give you a sense of the past.
People collect for investment purposes or simply because they love something.
They collect paintings and books, shells and flower pins, celebrity autographs and buttons, glass vases and teddy bears, menus from different restaurants and stickers, coins and stamps, and so on and so on. Collection is a group of interesting or beautiful objects brought together in order to show or study them or as a hobby.

There are two approaches to the collection.
A unified approach means that a collection includes similar items such as books, photographs or cups.
An eclectic approach means that it’s a combination of items such as pictures and objects.

It is said that three like objects make a collection. But to tell the truth, a collector rarely stops at three (and even at 10 or 20).

Collecting can become a hobby or even a passion.

The scope of collecting is absolutely unlimited.
I did a little research looking for unusual objects that are collected.
Here’s just a few of the weird collections I found:

- Categorize. If you want everything to be neat, you can organize your collection, for example you could organize your collection of different objects by size, shape or color.

- Invest in useful accessories.
Use shelves, tables, desks and cabinets to provide a better look.
Use coin or card books with plastic pockets.

- Devote an entire room (or wall if it’s impossible) to your collection.
You’ll have some idea of the amount of space you have.

- Keep a list of what you have and what you want.
You have to be sure that you don't accidentally buy duplicates or forget about the items that you'd love to have.

3. Taking photos of your collection.

By the way, you may be able to combine your passion for photography with your passion for collection.
As a photographer you can immortalize your collections in photos as well as in boxes or display cases.

Taking photos of a collection is like taking photos of any inanimate object.

To photograph small objects like coins, for example, you will need a lens that has a macro capabilities.
Most likely you will need a tripod, because when you photograph objects at macro ranges you need to use smaller apertures.
You will need good light.
If you have a lot of objects to photograph, consider investing in a table top light box for better results.
Make sure you have some soft shadows in your photos. Shadows add dimension—without them, your objects will seem flat/ will lack texture.

If you decide to catalog your collection, you should try to use similar lighting and similar composition for all of your photos.

4. My collections.

My collection of teddy bears consists of 53 creatures. I bought them and received as gifts. I remembered my first teddy bear from my childhood. It was a present for Christmas. And I believed that Santa Claus brought me this wonderful fluffy bear.

I’m sure that we can place our collections throughout our houses.

My shell collection in the bathroom makes me think of family vacations and makes me dream about new trips.

My Gzhel collection in the kitchen reminds me of my grandparents’ house. Gzhel is the name of the traditional Russian craft of production of porcelain and pottery items - dishes, cups, other decorative elements and pieces.

I enjoy little figurines. All of them are unique, because they are hand painted. And cups and vases from collection are used for their intended purpose.